Noah's Ark (partially lost film; 1928)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its disturbing subject matter.

Film poster.

Status: Partially Lost

Noah's Ark is a 1928 early talkie film based on the famous Bible story. The film is best known for its flood scene, which reportedly drowned three actors, critically injured another, and almost claimed the life of a young John Wayne (cast as an extra in the scene). Viewers can easily see the actors struggling to stay alive in a large amount of water used for the scene, and this film is responsible for putting forth stricter safety regulations on stunt scenes.

When the film premiered in New York, it was 135 minutes in length. The film received harsh criticism for its poor implementation of sound and for the above-mentioned flood scene. For the wide-release version, 35 minutes were cut to correct those criticisms. The longer version of the flood scene apparently was more unsettling, and reportedly even contained shots of some of the actors of whom were drowning. The 100-minute version is the only cut of the film that survives. The premiere version hasn't been seen since its New York premiere, rendering the aforementioned 35 minutes lost.